Mahela reappointed Sri Lanka Captain

Tuesday, 24 January 2012 00:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

COLOMBO (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan has resigned from the captaincy and former skipper Mahela Jayawardene has been reappointed to the role, the island nation’s sports minister said on Monday.

“Dilshan has sent his resignation letter so therefore the selectors met today and appointed Mahela Jayawardene as the captain and Angelo Mathews as the vice captain,” Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Reuters.

Dilshan quit a day after returning from South Africa where Sri Lanka lost the three-match test series 2-1 and five-match one-day series 3-2.

Taking over from Kumar Sangakkara after a six-wicket defeat in the 2011 World Cup final against India, Dilshan led the team to England, South Africa and in a home series against Australia but failed to win a single test or one-day series.

Jayawardene captained the team for more than three years from 2006 before Sangakkara took over.

The stylish batsman, who led Sri Lanka to the 2007 World Cup runners-up spot, will be the captain for all three formats of the game.